First day of Greek strikes ends violently

Hundreds of youths smashed and looted stores incentral Athens and clashed with riot police during a massive anti-governmentrally against painful new austerity measures that won initial parliamentaryapproval in a vote Wednesay night.The rioting came on the first day of a 48-hour nationwide general strikethat brought services in much of Greece to a standstill, grounding flightsfor hours, leaving ferries tied up in port and shutting down customs offices,stores and banks.